Even if you can’t remember his name (and who but an Indian could?), you may be familiar with Vijay JoJo Chokal-Ingam’s story as told in his recently self-published Almost Black: The True Story Of How I Got Into Medical School By Pretending To Be Black. The book is a fascinating personal story, but more important … Continue reading “How Affirmative Action Really Works”

In 2006, I clipped a “Non Sequitur” cartoon that captured perfectly the mystique that surrounds our nation’s universities. The cartoon pictured a professor ensconced in a cubicle surrounded by an alligator-infested moat, drawbridge up. One outsider, gazing across the moat, says to another: “We have no idea what he does, which, of course, is one … Continue reading “The Modern University’s Greatest Failing”

The Problem One thing I’ve learned in my years of teaching in the U.S. is that many young Americans are moral relativists. As students in elementary and secondary schools, they were taught that there is no moral fact of the matter. Thus, when people disagree about moral issues, their different perspectives are equally valid. It … Continue reading “Students Are Moral Relativists: Problem and Solution”

In a typical week, I get four or five inquiries from media relating to some higher education issue. Five years ago, perhaps five or ten percent of those inquiries related to university executive compensation, especially the salaries of presidents. Now, probably 40-50 percent of the queries are on that topic. The public is increasingly interested … Continue reading “Are College Presidents Paid Too Much?”

Higher education media has gone “all in” for keeping college campuses closed this fall, with articles like “The Case Against Reopening” in The Chronicle of Higher Education and “Colleges Are Deluding Themselves” in The Atlantic, just to mention a few. Their basic premise: Reopening would be irresponsible because many students, faculty, and staff will get sick, some will … Continue reading “The Case for Reopening College Campuses “

Many college graduates think to themselves, “I don’t have any immediate job prospects that are attractive and I can easily get into grad school with the chance of eventually getting my PhD and then a tenured professorship; I guess that’s what I’ll do.” If you know anyone in that situation, do him or her a … Continue reading “Are You Sure You Want to Go to Grad School?”

To say that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has experienced racial tensions in the last few years would be an understatement. The most visible source of conflict has been the fate of the infamous—and illegally toppled —Confederate statue, Silent Sam. But even after the statue’s demise, activists at Chapel Hill insist that … Continue reading “UNC-Chapel Hill Creates Commission to Battle ‘Invisible Racism’”

To say that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has experienced racial tensions in the last few years would be an understatement. The most visible source of conflict has been the fate of the infamous—and illegally toppled —Confederate statue, Silent Sam. But even after the statue’s demise, activists at Chapel Hill insist that … Continue reading “UNC-Chapel Hill Creates Commission to Battle ‘Invisible Racism’”

A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”

Higher education reform will only come from the outside, probably from political reform. Or so we thought. Along came the coronavirus, also an outside force, that is upsetting the status quo in higher education. State universities are now preparing to cut budgets in the face of inevitable funding reductions from states and drops in student … Continue reading “Idaho’s Higher Education Earthquake?”

A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”

Homeschooling works. The roughly 2 million children who currently learn at home join a millennia-old practice supported by many government officials, scholars, college officials, and employers. While mainstream America has embraced homeschooling as a viable and positive educational option—and as 55 million K-12 students and their parents have been thrust into “crisis-teaching at home”—the angst … Continue reading “The Academic and Social Benefits of Homeschooling”

Recent Articles

Higher education media has gone “all in” for keeping college campuses closed this fall, with articles like “The Case Against Reopening” in The Chronicle of Higher Education and “Colleges Are Deluding Themselves” in The Atlantic, just to mention a few. Their basic premise: Reopening would be irresponsible because many students, faculty, and staff will get sick, some will … Continue reading “The Case for Reopening College Campuses “

Students from about 100 universities brought class-action lawsuits against colleges that have refused to give tuition refunds after COVID-19 shut down campuses. So far, the only aid students have received has come through the federal CARES Act. Those universities facing lawsuits include large, nationally known schools such as Drexel University, the University of Miami, and … Continue reading “Did You Know? Student Lawsuits and De Facto Refunds”

Many college graduates think to themselves, “I don’t have any immediate job prospects that are attractive and I can easily get into grad school with the chance of eventually getting my PhD and then a tenured professorship; I guess that’s what I’ll do.” If you know anyone in that situation, do him or her a … Continue reading “Are You Sure You Want to Go to Grad School?”

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